New Delhi: Meghalaya along with three other states has refused to adopt the policy of fixed tenures for civil servants, a stand that could put these states at odds with the apex court.
The Supreme Court has ordered for fixing tenure for civil servants. The Central government has also been urging the states to do the same since 2007.
A senior official in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) informed that the four states – Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab – have reiterated their position for not adopting the fixed tenure rule for IAS officers during the principal secretary-level meet held on September 27. Ten other major states including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, have remained non-committal on the issue.The Supreme Court order on Thursday said that 13 states had agreed with the DoPT proposal for a two-year fixed tenure for IAS officers, while four states have refused to adopt the policy, and ten states have remained non-committal.
The stability of the All India Service Officers has been a subject of concern for a long time now.
Frequent and arbitrary transfers of officers before completing a reasonable tenure on any post have always been considered as a major reason for the declining standards of administration. A fixed and stable tenure would lead to improvement in service quality, condition and standards of administration, sources said.
